"The sign said 'All You Can Eat'."
Posted on 01/02/2008 3:57:01 PM PST by SkyPilot
HOUMA, La. (AP) - A 6-foot-3, 265-pound man says a restaurant overcharged him for his trips to the buffet line, then banned him and a relative because they're hearty eaters. A spokesman for the restaurant denies the claim.
Ricky Labit, a disabled offshore worker, said he had been a regular for eight months at the Manchuria Restaurant in Houma, eating there as often as three times a week.
On his most recent visit, he said, a waitress gave him and his wife's cousin, 44-year-old Michael Borrelli, a bill for $46.40, roughly double the buffet price for two adults.
"She says, 'Y'all fat, and y'all eat too much,'" Labit said.
Labit and Borrelli said they felt discriminated against because of their size. "I was stunned, that somebody would say something like that. I ain't that fat, I only weigh 277," Borrelli said, adding that a waitress told him he looked like he a had a "baby in the belly."
Houma accountant Thomas Campo said the men were charged an extra $10 each on Dec. 21 because they made a habit of dining exclusively on the more expensive seafood dishes, including crab legs and frog legs.
"We have a lot of big people there," said Campo, who spoke for owner Li Shang, whose English is limited. "We don't discriminate."
Labit denied ever being told he would be asked to pay more than the standard adult price.
The argument grew heated, and police were called.
The police report states, "The incident was settled when the management advised that the bill was a mistake and, to appease Ricky, the meal was complimentary."
Labit said he insisted on paying but was told not to come back. He complained that when seafood on the buffet line runs out, the restaurant only grudgingly cooks more.
Campo said the proprietress tries to reduce waste of quality food, he said.
"Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added."
"The sign said 'All You Can Eat'."
No wonder he "only" weighs 277 lbs.
For a minute, I thought it said the eater in question was a 3,265 pound man. THAT got my attention.
The cops were called and nobody got tazed?
What’s the world coming to?
We had an “All-You-Can-Eat” thread here about 3 years ago. It was the funniest FR thread I ever saw.
“Hearty eaters” must be AP speak for “overeaters.”
I was in Korea eating once when I heard a dog howling like hell outside in the alley.
Everyone just went about their business - and I had to run out of the place.
It really disturbed me.
I'm no skinny guy myself and tend to eat big at these type of places, but I don't go that often. When I do, though, I take what I can eat and I eat what I take.
I've seen slobbish behavior by a lot of patrons who load up, cherry-pick the expensive stuff and waste more than even I eat. The result is that reasonably well-mannered patrons end up subsidizing the slobs.
If the restaurants cannot exclude the worst abusers, they either must raise prices, discouraging patrons who eat modestly, or go out of business.
Now if hospitals could only do the same thing to those who pull into ERs for minor ailments with no insurance, no intention to meet even a modest copay and who aren't even in the country legally.
"That all you can eat...you go now!"
And he weighed 265 lbs. when he walked in.
When I worked in Washington DC, the upscale cafeterias in Crystal City or Georgetown charged by the pound - for everything: salad, chinese, pasta, ice cream, etc.
I did eat at a Chinese "All You Can Eat" place in Fort Walton Beach FL.
They served a huge assortment - Chinese, Dim Sum, Sea Food, American food, desserts, etc.
The only thing they charged extra for was the sushi.
But - I saw a TON of wasted food there.
It really was a crime.
“You go home now fat boy. You been here 4 houra!”
Not me...
I'm no skinny guy myself and tend to eat big at these type of places, but I don't go that often. When I do, though, I take what I can eat and I eat what I take.
As do I, although I'll often try something new, and take a small amount: If I don't like it, I won't force myself to eat it.
If the restaurants cannot exclude the worst abusers, they either must raise prices, discouraging patrons who eat modestly, or go out of business.
Then these people should have been told before beginning their meal that they weren't welcome, or that they would be charged more for their meal.
I'm 100% in favor of a private company being able to refuse service to anyone: However, they MUST inform the "guests" first, and give them the option of complying with the different rules, or leaving.
Mark
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